Please help. Return of depressive syptoms

[nethunsreject]

I've had depresiion on and off for 20 yrs (I'm alost 40) but in the last few years, hardly at all.

I know this sounds pathetic, but I have had a major mental crash brought on by having a piddling little cold ffs! My mood does crash a bit if I'm under the weather, but this is ridiculous and out of all proportion.

I have a big thing on this weekend and all I am doing is sitting worrying about how to get through it feeling like I want to die under a duvet.

How? how do I get through it? I can't get out of it.

Help?

bump

What has helped you through such times over the past 20 years?

Do that.

You are right that you will have to go through it before you can get out of it, but look at it this way: it's happened before, plenty of times, and you've always come out the other side. You've got a nice long period - several years! - of hardly any depressive symptoms right behind you, and there is no reason why you wouldn't return to another nice long period like that once you recover from the current symptoms.

You can make it, you have done before.

Do the little things that can stop you sinking deeper: have frequent social interactions (scheduled if necessary), eat 3 proper meals per day, keep exercising if that's part of your routine...

poor you, nethun. you have done really well to stave the depression off for years. I don't have personal experience, so my advice might not be the most useful but someone close to me is in a similar situation.

i can only suggest that you treat it as if it is not you doing it and you are just supervising the 'person' doing it. make a list of all the things that need to be done throughout the weekend (down to the level of 'have shower', 'get dressed', etc.) and cross them off. don't let yourself think about the next thing on the list beforehand, and allow yourself a certain amount of downtime in between things where possible.

all the way through, tell yourself 'i'm not going to think until i get back home' - every time you start to spiral, tell yourself 'i can give in when i get home'

and have something (bar of chocolate whatever) back at home for a reward when you get back

sorry if this sounds trivialising, i don't mean it to.

Thank you, that is really very helpful. Yes, I need to get through one step at a time. The bigger picture is freaking me out. I wish I could fast forward through the weekend becaus ethen I can relax and rest and might feel better. But I don't now.

But yeah, the list thing is good and I have made it through a hell of a lot worse, yeah. thanks